According to Adam Schefter, the Arizona Cardinals are trading S Isaiah Simmons to the New York Giants for a seventh-round pick in 2024.
The new regime in Arizona had been trying Simmons out as a full-time safety after the former first-round pick had struggled to find a home in his first few years.
There had been public optimism about how the switch was going but evidently the Cardinals decided it was time to pull the plug.
Arizona had declined Simmons’ fifth-year option earlier this offseason, making 2023 a contract year for the former top-ten pick.
For the Giants, a seventh-round pick is peanuts to pay to see if DC Don Martindale can find a use for Simmons, who remains an elite athlete by NFL standards.
Simmons, 25, was a two-year starter at Clemson and won the Butkus Award as college football’s best linebacker in 2019. The Cardinals used the No. 8 overall pick in the 2019 draft on him.
Simmons signed a four-year, $20,664,055 rookie contract that includes a $12,588,404 signing bonus. He will be an unrestricted free agent in 2024 after the Cardinals declined his fifth-year option.
In 2022, Simmons appeared in all 17 games for the Cardinals and recorded 99 tackles, four sacks, two interceptions, a defensive touchdown, two forced fumbles, a recovery and seven pass defenses.
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